Morocco’s Chari Partners with Visa to Expand Digital Payments
TLDR
- Moroccan retail-tech startup Chari has entered into a seven-year strategic partnership with global payments giant Visa to accelerate financial inclusion and digital innovation
- The collaboration aims to integrate more merchants into the formal financial system by expanding access to digital payment solutions
- The startup has onboarded over 20,000 businesses in Morocco and expanded into Tunisia and Côte d’Ivoire
Moroccan retail-tech startup Chari has entered into a seven-year strategic partnership with global payments giant Visa to accelerate financial inclusion and digital innovation across the Moroccan market. The collaboration aims to integrate more merchants into the formal financial system by expanding access to digital payment solutions.
Founded in 2020, Chari enables small convenience stores to order inventory and receive deliveries via its app. The startup has onboarded over 20,000 businesses in Morocco and expanded into Tunisia and Côte d’Ivoire. A Y Combinator graduate, Chari is one of North Africa’s most prominent retail-tech ventures.
Through the partnership, Chari will leverage Visa’s payments infrastructure to digitize merchant transactions, broaden financial access, and introduce new services. Visa, in turn, gains deeper market penetration into Morocco’s rapidly evolving fintech ecosystem.
Daba is Africa's leading investment platform for private and public markets. Download here
Key Takeaways
Visa’s partnership with Chari reflects a growing strategy to align with agile local players to penetrate underserved markets across Francophone Africa. Morocco’s informal retail sector, long dominated by cash transactions, represents a sizable opportunity for digitization. Chari’s hybrid model—combining logistics, payments, and credit tools—provides Visa with a direct channel to reach small merchants at scale. With over 600,000 convenience stores across North Africa, digitizing these businesses could unlock significant value in transaction volume and customer data. For Chari, the Visa partnership strengthens its fintech positioning and complements prior efforts to offer financial products, including working capital loans. The collaboration also paves the way for joint innovations in merchant services, including contactless payments and loyalty programs. As competition intensifies in North Africa’s digital economy, strategic alliances like this one will be key to driving financial inclusion while opening new revenue channels for both global payment networks and local platforms.
Think someone else should see this?
To invest in this opportunity and other opportunities across Africa
Download the daba finance app on your mobile through
Take action.
Download app
Start investing in Africa’s best opportunities, including stocks, bonds, startups, venture funds, and more.
Partner with us
Unlock exciting business opportunities and growth potential.
Join Daba
Become a part of our vibrant community and enjoy exclusive benefits.
Contact us
Reach out to us for inquiries, support, or collaboration.